


The Teleportation Hero: Phenomenon

by fourforfour



Category: My Hero Academia
Genre: Action & Romance, Character Development, Competition, Family Dynamics, Multi, Original Character(s), Rivalry, Slow Build, Teen Angst, Teleportation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2020-05-19 12:22:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19356943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fourforfour/pseuds/fourforfour
Summary: Ariso Jiso (Phenomenon) is the daughter of a pro-hero, and has a teleportation quirk. She moves from America to Japan to reunite with her father and attend UA. Arisa is determined to prove that she deserves to become a pro-hero, and makes some friends along the way. Join her on her journey!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an ongoing fic I just started. Will update the tags as this story progresses. I’m planning on updating once a week so check back regularly! Please leave a comment and be nice (or else I’ll get disheartened and never finish this, lol).
> 
> Edit: I write in Word and copy/paste this fic. I’m now noticing that there are some spacing issues - I’ll try to catch them as I see them.

**CHAPTER 1**  

“Arisa, I really want you to think this through. You don’t know how dangerous this is,” your mother’s voice pleaded with you. Her voice sounded tinny coming out of your cellphone.  

Your eyes rolled in exasperation, regretting ever taking her call.  

“ _Mom_ , you already agreed to let me do this, you can’t back out now!” You groaned at her, tilting your head back while riding in the backseat of the limo that your father had rented for you.   

You were already on your way to the airport, after the chauffeur had picked you up from your mother’s penthouse and loaded your bags into the back. Your mother happened to be on a work trip for the last month and a half, filming a television show in different locations of Europe. Your father was supposed to meet you at the airport in Japan to take you to his home and prepare you for the exam to get into UA.  

The arrangements for you to attend your last three years of high school in Japan had been made  _months_ ago, and she picks the very last second to throw a big stink about the whole thing? 

“I never agreed to this Arisa, I said that I would think about it. When your father called to inform me that he’d already picked you up, I just had to put a stop to this. My child is being kidnapped, for heaven’s sake!” 

You squinted down at the cell phone that you were currently using to Facetime with your mother. This was so typical of her, to agree to something and then pretend that it never happened – and you couldn’t help but snort at the idea of being ‘kidnapped’ in a luxurious limo with packed bags.  

She pursed her lips at you, tossing a lock of silky blonde hair behind her head. A young makeup assistant could be seen fluttering about her in the background, working to touch up some minor flaw with her foundation.  

“I distinctly remember you saying, ‘I think it would be great for you to live with your father. Alexander and I need our own space to explore our relationship, and you need to learn more about how to use your quirk.’ Hell woman, you even signed the custody paperwork!” 

Alexander was your mother’s most recent boyfriend, whom she had met while they were co-stars on a steamy American soap opera called  _The Lawyer’s Assistant_. Your mother had been more than happy to sign over custody of you to your father while she ‘explored’ her new relationship.  

Their relationship had hit a rocky point though, and she always clung onto you whenever she was having relationship problems with her boyfriends. You usually had a soft spot for your mother when it came to this type of thing, although you’d never admit it, but you weren’t just going to give in this time. She could guilt you all she wanted, but it wouldn’t work.  

Your mother pouted at your last words. “That shouldn’t even count, I was drunk when I signed the paperwork!”  

It was true. You had gotten her drunk in order to get her to sign the paperwork (which was a fact that you had made sure to hide from your father). 

You said nothing to this, simply choosing to groan out your frustration. After a long moment of silence, you pleaded softly, “Mom. This isn’t forever, okay? I can still come back on my breaks to visit you, or travel to whatever location you’re filming at. Don’t you know how much I’ve been wanting to attend UA? Do you really just want me to throw aside everything I’ve ever wanted?”  

Her eyes started to water in response, rounding into puppy dog eyes. “I know sweetie, I would never want to take something important away from you. B-but... I’m just going to miss you so much, Arisa. My talented girl, I don’t want your father to steal you away from me. The hero lifestyle isn’t what you think it is, my baby.” 

“Hmph,” you responded, folding your left hand under your right arm as you continued to hold the phone. “You’ve literally been traveling for the last month, so you have no right to say that. Even when you are here, you’re never around. Plus, I know what I’m getting myself into – at least I can actually use my quirk at UA instead of hiding it and pretending to be your perfect daughter.” 

To make a long story short, your mother had always disapproved of you using your teleportation quirk. In your mind, this was likely out of pride, as she wanted you to follow her footsteps of being an actress rather than your father’s “self-serving antics” as a pro hero. It didn’t help that you resembled her in appearance, furthering her ideations of you becoming an actress.  

She opened her mouth to respond to you, a hint of anger in her eyes, but you’d had enough with the conversation. “Listen, mom. We just got to the airport. I’m sorry, but this isn’t up for discussion. I’ll call you when I touch down in Japan.” 

You raised your thumb to end the call, but not before your mother’s voice rang out to say, “Well tell Tatsuki that he can kiss my - !” And with that, you had disconnected. 

The limo was still about ten minutes away from the airport. You had lied simply to get off the phone with her and avoid saying something you’d regret. Awkward eye contact was made with the chauffeur through the rear view mirror, who had heard your whole conversation, and you pursed your lips into a weird half-smile before closing your eyes and leaning back against the seat.  

 _Get me the_ ** _fuck_** _out of this country, please_. You thought to yourself, and your eyes widened in confusion when you heard the chauffeur laugh in response. Lifting your head to make eye contact with him, you saw the knowing look he was sending your way.  

“Sorry, I can hear people’s thoughts when they are tied with strong emotions,” the chauffeur explained in an embarrassed tone before apologizing. He had a thick Bostonian accent, and laugh lines around his eyes. 

“I don’t mean to  _listen in_ , you know? Anyways, we should be at the airport soon, right on time for your flight.” 

There was a beat of silence, and then you burst into laughter.  

“Thank you, sir. Sorry for having such a strong thought!” 

He laughed in response, waving a hand at you in dismissal. “Oh, no! I have heard some bad stuff, that was nothing!” The man proceeded to tell you an entertaining story about the time he gave a politician a ride and overheard his plans to cheat on his wife. This effectively distracted you, and the two of you laughed the rest of the way to the airport as he chattered.  

Before you knew it, you had successfully checked your bags with the airline, and were placed in a first-class seat as you waited for takeoff. This 13-hour flight from New York to Japan was going to be long, and you knew that you shouldn’t nap before arriving in order to build up your sleepiness for the jet lag that was to come. Nevertheless, you began to drift off after you felt the plane propel itself into the air.  

An airline hostess tucked a pillow underneath your head as you fell asleep... 

 

* * *

 

 _You dreamt of_ _teleporting_ _from high rise buildings to city streets as you fought faceless villains, disappearing and reappearing from behind_ _faceless assailants_ _to deliver heavy blows..._  

 _Wrapping your arms around_ _helpless people trapped inside burning buildings_ _,_ _and removing them to locations of safety...._  

 _Suddenly, y_ _ou were much younger, and in the midst of saying goodbye to your father, who was leaving for Japan. “Arisa,” You dreamt of_ _his_ _deep voice as he placed a hand on your cheek. “The power you’ve inherited from me is great, and I want you to come to me when you are ready to use it.”_  

 _He placed his arms around your small shoulders, and you clung to the front of his shirt. “Your mother is a wonderful woman, but she'_ _s_ _not perfect. Do not let her pressure you to be_ _come_ _someone you ar_ _en’_ _t. Come to Japan when you are ready, I will be waiting for you.”_  

 _“Why are you going? I want you to stay,” You whimper at him, before you feel a hand grab onto your arm and tug you away._  

 _“Melody, don’t act this way around her,” Your father’s voice reprimands the person behind you_ _... y_ _our_ _mother,_ _who pulls you_ _from_ _his_ _arms._  

 _“I don’t want you filling her head with lies. She’ll never become a hero like you,_ _not_ _if I have anything to say about it. You’re not even a hero, really, are you? You’re just a shitty sidekick, and a shitty husband too.” Your mother’s spiteful voice resonates in your head, and you squint your eyes before turning your head to try to shake the memory away._  

 _Another memory sprouts itself instead – this time_ _you_ _are a_ _slightly older child, teleporting away from the nannies your mother had hired to watch over you while she was working overseas._  

 _The dream changes again, and y_ _ou_ _are on the playground, teleporting_ _above a bully’s head on the playground to_ _crash atop of him_ _. The teacher that yelled at you afterwards until she was red in the face._  

A light ‘ding’ was heard overhead, and you realized the pilot was speaking over the intercom. You swiped away the drool that had pooled onto your pillow and looked around in a daze.  

 _Did I actually sleep for an entire 13 hours? Holy Shit._  

 _“_ Passengers, we have just arrived outside of beautiful Tokyo, Japan. The local time is 7:00 p.m., so I hope you all are ready to get some dinner...” the pilot’s voice droned on.  

Your heartbeat picked up as you peered out the window. Pink rays of sunlight touched upon the backs of large skyscrapers, and you could see small cars in the distance traveling to unknown places underneath the canopy of metal. You were used to big cities as a former resident of New York City, but nothing compared to the sheer industrialism of Tokyo.  

 _I will learn how to use quirk here, and save others from villainy!_  You thought to yourself, forever memorializing this moment in your heart.   

Your future awaits.   


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arisa lands in Japan and meets with her father.

**CHAPTER 2**  

Stepping into the airport terminal from the runway, you hurriedly ran to the baggage claim area to grab your small suitcase. You’d been told not to bring much, since your father would be able to provide you with anything you might need.  

After grabbing your suitcase, you sped over to the waiting area where passengers were waiting to be picked up by their friends or family. There was a blur of different faces, none of which looked familiar to you, and your heart sped up a little bit in anxiety.  

 _Where was he?_  

No sooner had you that that when you felt a heavy hand rest atop your shoulder. Spinning around, you cried out in delight as you saw your father before you. He was a few inches taller and well built, wearing casual clothes and a baseball cap that hid some of his appearance. His mid-length black hair stuck out from under his cap, making him look like somewhat of a ‘shaggy’ guy, further portrayed by the dark stubble that dotted his jawline. While he probably thought he looked  _incognito_ , he looked like a guy who just rolled out of bed to you.  

He wasn’t one of the most popular heroes in Japan, but he was still well-known for his work as the sidekick of Endeavor. As such, he took care to be discreet with his daily life. Most people weren’t even aware that he had a daughter, and he aimed to keep it that way for your privacy and safety.  

Despite being raised far away from him, you were still one of the top priorities in his life. He hoped that your three-year stay in Japan would help foster your relationship with him, while also ensuring that you could adequately protect yourself with your quirk against the other kids at UA.  

“Dad!” Your voice cried out in English as you dropped your suitcase behind you.  

“Arisa, my one and only daughter. It’s been so long!” He gave you a blinding smile as he responded excitedly in Japanese before wrapping his arms around your waist and spinning you into the air.  

He settled you back onto the floor, and the two of you remained embraced in the middle of the airport for a long moment. “I can’t believe you are finally here; I have always wished for this day to come!” He spoke, switching to English, as he was unsure how well you could understand his Japanese.  

You pulled back a little to smile up at him. The last time you saw him had been four years ago, when your mother briefly allowed you to see him for your 12th birthday while he had been passing through New York to attend the annual Western Hemisphere Hero Convention as a guest speaker. Back then, you hadn’t really been able to understand him when he spoke in his native language, and you had resolved yourself to become fluent so that the two of you could speak more freely in the future.  

Your only other interactions with him were the intermittent birthday cards or postcards he’d send your way, as well as little text messages every now and then that had brief, encouraging messages. You weren’t exactly strangers, but you also weren’t close by any stretch of the imagination. You knew that this was partially due to your mother’s interference, but also due to your father’s busy lifestyle as one of the most popular sidekicks in his country.   

“I’ve been preparing to come for a long time, dad!” You spoke to him in fluent Japanese, and watched his eyes widen in surprise. He took two exaggerated steps back, his hand flying up to cover his heart, and you smiled in amusement.  

“What is this?! My daughter, when did you become fluent? Are my ears hearing correctly?” He exclaimed, his arms extending outward in a show of surprise.  

You giggled, and replied, “I’ve been learning for  _years_ , dad! You just didn’t know because I never told you.” 

“Why keep this a secret, Arisa! I could have helped you in your studies! Tell me, did you learn how to write as well?” He spoke rapidly, trying to test out how well you’d understand him.  

You rolled your eyes, and leaned down to pick your suitcase back up. “Help me how, dad? Fly to New York every day to tutor me after school?” You shook your head, and put a hand on your hip. “I wanted to surprise you, and I think I did, judging by your reaction! And yes, I can write, although... not  _well_...”  

He shook his head and smirked down at you. “You are full of surprises, Arisa. I’m so excited to share my life with you here... I never thought this would happen when you are still a kid! I always assumed you would come here as an adult, once you could get away from your mother. I’ll have to put your language skills to the test, as well as your quirk!”  

You tilted your head, thinking on his words. It was clear that he thought ill of your mother, and you couldn’t necessarily blame him for it. They had divorced due to their constant fighting and bickering. 

 Your father always told you that he knew that they weren’t a good match for each other when he realized that you had taken the role of a peacekeeper at only 4 years old, trying to make the two of them reconcile with each other with child-like bargaining and mediation.  

 _“Say sorry to daddy, mommy. She didn’t mean to throw her shoe at you. Sometimes you get mad and have to cry about it. Right, mommy? Why don’t you kiss each other to show that you love each other, Grandma said that is what kissing is for when we watched Cinderella.”_  

Your eyes crinkled at him as you smiled in understanding. “Let’s go, dad. I want to see all that Japan has to offer, and I’ve been cooped up on an airplane for 13 hours!”  

He chuckled, and then bent down to take the handle of your suitcase from you. “Let’s go Arisa, there is much to show you. We will get started on your training first thing tomorrow, we only have a week before the entrance exam and I need to see what all you can do with your quirk.” 

Your father then ruffled your hair with the palm of his hand before walking towards the exit, you trailing close behind him while looking around the airport at all the little shops and travelers standing around.  

 _My little hero,_  he thought to himself while glancing back at you.  

You had grown so much since he last saw you, and he couldn’t help but notice his own features in your appearance. While you had your mother’s blonde, wavy hair, your warm brown eyes reflected his own. Your eyebrows were prominent, and the upward curve of your mouth matched the sunny disposition that was permanently set on his own face.  

He couldn’t help but notice that you had chopped your hair into a shoulder-length bob, and your small nose ring winked at him when catching the light. You definitely had tried to rebel against your mother, and he hoped that you wouldn’t be too rebellious against him. Your mother had been much more lax than he was, and he knew that you would probably be in for a rude awakening when you were met with the rules of his household.  

You’d also grown taller, and were now only a few inches shorter than him. He was gladdened to see that you were relatively toned as well, with long and lean arms and legs – the results of the self-defense classes that you had been taking in America. He hoped that it would be a good enough foundation for the rigorous training you would be doing in the near-future, should you pass the entrance exam.  

 _You will have some hard work ahead of you, daughter._  


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arisa gets in some training, and catches up with her father... who has some tea on Endeavor?

**CHAPTER 3**  

A gasp tore out of your throat as you felt a swift kick fall against your side.  

“Huh?” You whipped your head around to see your dad, attired in his full Mr. Untouchable costume, jumping away from you.  

Your father’s rather intimidating costume had taken you a while to get used to. The white mask covering his face made him seem like a stranger, with a slant over his eyeline that created the illusion of a focused predator. His fully body suit was white with black markings that detailed his athletic physique. Around his wrists were circular metal cuffs that he used to slam into opponents during hand-to-hand combat, which he had told you was an idea implemented by the support class when he had gone to UA.  

“Are you tired already, Arisa? I’m disappointed,” he taunted.  

A look of sheer determination swept over your face in response. “You’re spry, old man,” you commented dryly before glancing over his shoulder at the space behind him.  

The next second, you had disappeared and rematerialized behind him. You spun to face his backside, intending to deliver a kick to his back, but he quickly grabbed your ankle and threw you to the other side of the room. You hit the wall in a large crash, and then fell to the ground with a thud.  

Before you could even think of getting up, he phased over to you. “You have a lot you need to work on, daughter. Never look to where you are going to teleport to. It’s a dead giveaway, and a fatal mistake.” 

You threw your arms out in irritation, resting back against the floor in defeat while attempting to catch your breath. “That’s literally how my quirk works, dad! I have to be able to  _look_ at where I’m  _going_!” 

He shook his head, placing his hands on his hips. “I know exactly how  _our_ quirk works, and this is something I struggled with as well when I was younger. The key is to memorize the layout of any location you are fighting within, until you have a crystal-clear memory to look back on. Your eyes should always be on your opponent.”  

He then muttered something to himself that sounded like, “We have more work to do than I thought.”  

Speaking louder, he continued, “Your fighting skills aren’t bad either, but you have much to improve on – you're still on a very rudimentary level. It should be enough to get you past the entrance exam, but I fear that you will struggle in school. We’ll have to make sure that you train every day for at least two hours once classes start.”  

You blew out your breath at his words, flying away the hair that laid across your face. You couldn't help but feel a little disheartened. You had been training with him for the last two weeks, and he had been highly critical during that time – not to mention, relentless with how often you were training.  

He had seemed proud of you for at least being able to defend yourself from basic attacks, but that didn’t hold much weight when you fought against him using your quirk.  

Your father had been sure to let you know that your stamina was not at a good level for long-term fighting. Furthermore, you weren’t confident enough in executing attacks, once you had teleported to a position where you could do so. You were also struggling with trying to fluidly execute an attack after performing a teleportation jump – the time it took you to orient yourself to your surroundings being the reason. When you got especially nervous, you would sometimes even be facing the wrong direction!  

“Arisa, why do you want to be a hero?” He asked you, breaking the silence.  

You raised your eyebrows at his question, which had come out of the blue. Pushing yourself into a sitting position, you watched as he removed his mask in order to look at you fully. His face was set into a serious expression, showing the gravity of what he was asking.  

There was another moment of silence as you pondered over your next words.  

“I want to save people like you do, dad.” You said, finally.  

“That’s not good enough.” He said, crossing his arms.  

You looked at him like he had grown a second head. “Um, it’s not? Isn’t that what being a hero is all about?”  

“That is what being a hero is about.” He agreed, walking to the adjacent wall and leaning against it with his shoulder. He peered down at you from where you remained seated on the floor.  

“ _But,_ there are a lot of heroes in the world. The world is practically teeming with young people like you, and you’re more privileged than most – you have a strong quirk, and famous parents – your father being a long-time pro, at that.” 

You nodded your head, pinching your eyebrows together.  _What_ _was_ _his point?_  

“So, what makes you want to be a hero? What drives you, Arisa? Why do you think that you deserve to be a hero more than the other kids who will be at that entrance exam tomorrow?” 

“Remember, the spot that you take as a student at that school is a spot that you are taking away from someone else who wishes to ‘save people’. So, why are you more deserving?” He added.  

That gave you pause, and you frowned at the floor beneath you.  

It was true, you were as privileged as it came – and yes, you did have powerful parents who could sway and influence your acceptance into UA. Your teleportation quirk was powerful, but you hadn’t dedicated yourself to the training that the other hopeful applicants likely had. Your mother had made sure of that. 

You had always felt that it was your destiny to go to UA... but what if you were just being prideful? Was it fair to take a spot away from someone who could possibly be a better hero than you? 

Of course, you wanted to save people, and your quirk and life circumstances gave you a means to do so... but was that really not enough? 

“I... I guess I’m not sure what makes me more deserving...” You responded, tears pooling in the corners of your eyes. You were swarmed by feelings of unworthiness, and even embarrassment at how privileged and pampered you probably seemed to others.  

You looked down to not show your emotions to your father. He saw them anyways.  

Clenching your eyelids shut, you tried to sort through your emotions. You pictured faceless classmates who laughed at you for weaknesses, their voices jumbling together as they jeered at you. “You don’t belong here,” “They shouldn’t have let you in,” “Isn’t your dad just a sidekick?” 

Your unsurety swirled into a determination that took even you by surprise, your stomach clenching in anger. Thinking of someone telling you that you didn’t deserve to do something kicked in your gut reaction of ‘ _fuck that._ ’   

Wiping your tears, you failed to notice the sympathetic look that he had been sending you. Making eye contact, you raised a fist and smiled confidently.  

“I want to prove that I can be deserving of becoming a pro-hero, dad. I want people to hear my name, and feel a sense of safety. I’ve always felt like this is what I was destined to do. Not become an actress like mom, or an office worker, or whatever else! It’s not about the fame or the money... I just want to be happy with myself, and this is the path that will get me there.”  

He sighed through his nose, feeling somewhat sorry for putting you on the spot. He just wanted to be sure that this wasn’t something that you would give up on, halfway through. Hero training was rigorous, and he believed that you could do it, but it would take a lot of work and – honestly, a lot of pain to get there.  

He’d been elated when he first learned that you wanted to train to be a hero, but now that you were finally in Japan with him, he couldn't help but be a little scared for you.  

It was all real now.  

“You’re not happy with yourself?” Was all he asked.  

You scratched your head awkwardly in response.  _He caught that?_  

“...No, I’m not. I haven’t been for a long time. It feels like everything I do is to make someone else happy,” You spoke quietly. 

“I want to save myself from that, I guess, and be my own hero in a way. I know it probably seems like I’m just chasing what you have... Even my own mother thinks that... but that’s never been my motivation.” 

He nodded his head, evaluating your words for a moment.  

“All right, daughter. It’s okay. Think on your words and keep them close to your heart during the entrance exam tomorrow. When things get hard, it’s best to keep your own goals at the forefront.” 

You nodded at him seriously while unconsciously lifting a hand to rub over your chest. He walked over and lent you a hand up, which you took gratefully.  

It was odd, going from a mother who was so inattentive to a father who asked you tough questions about yourself. You noticed that he also tended to hover over you, but from afar as to let you not feel overwhelmed.  

He suggested that the two of you grab some lunch from a local sushi place, which you were 100% down for... If you had to pick a last meal to ever eat, it would definitely be sushi. After showering and getting changed, you met him downstairs to head out.  

When you first arrived to his house in Tokyo, you realized that the downstairs area also served as his headquarters for his hero agency, Jisō Rescue Agency.  

You’d known that your father had quit being the fire hero Endeavor’s sidekick some time ago, but you never asked why he decided to quit and start up his own agency. The chaos surrounding your arrival and the immediate need to settle in and start training had overtaken a lot of your chances to catch up with your dad.  

After the two of you had put in your food orders, you looked across the table and realized that now was as good a time as any. “Hey, dad. Why did you start up your own agency? Did you get tired of being a sidekick?” You asked bluntly.  

He blinked at you in surprise, and then let out a loud laugh. “I will never get used to you speaking in Japanese. You take after me, asking rude questions.”  

You made an expression somewhere between a frown and a smirk.  _Rude like him?_  

“Was it rude? I just want to know... It’s like, we’re family, but still strangers – let me learn more about my ‘hero’ dad, huh?” You prodded him good-naturedly.  

“Hmm, you do have a point. Alright, I’ll tell you – but you have to answer my question as well.” He challenged you. 

“Ooh, question-for-question, huh? I’ll bite.” You replied with a smile, secretly pleased that he was taking an interest in you. Meanwhile, he was happy about being able to ask you an in-depth question without seeming nosey.  

”It’s pretty simple, really; Endeavor is a jackass.” He raised an eyebrow as he revealed his reason.  

“… That’s it? Come  _on_ , I want to hear the drama!” You shook your fist at him.  

“Men don’t have drama, we have disagreements.” He replied, flexing an arm. You threw a carrot shred at him, disgruntled at his pandering to masculinity.  

“ _Dad,”_ You nasally whined at him, pretending to be deeply hurt.  

He rounded his eyes in mock horror, raising his hands over his ears. “Ah! Fine! I concede! Never use that voice again, it could break glass!”  

You rolled your eyes. 

“The  _longer version_ of my reason is probably good for you to hear anyways; you need to learn this at some point or another.”  

You made a noise of agreement and circled your finger around, signaling for him to  _get on with it already._  

“Rude girl.  _Anyways_ , as you know, I worked under him for a long time. You were probably – what, 10? 11? – when I first started teaming up with him. We worked well together since he needed someone to run damage control on his missions.” 

He paused to take a drink of the Kirin Lager that he had ordered as the waiter delivered sushi to your table. You absentmindedly nodded your head at the waiter, already becoming accustomed to the Japanese way of bowing in thanks or apologies.  

“That makes sense, anytime the news would talk about you, it was always to mention that you had rescued some person from some dire situation while Endeavor kicked ass. Never made sense to me, you are equally ass-kickable. Wait, kick-ass-able?” You trailed off, attention diverted, and mumbling in English. 

“ _As I was saying,_ ” Your father cut in, “I later found out that he had his own reasons for having me work with him. The guy wanted to keep me under his thumb so that he’d have less competition against the #1 spot. Better yet, with me keeping civilians clear of his path, he could fight with the most destructive means possible – property damage and livelihoods be damned.” 

His words had captured your full attention, and you leaned back to soak in his story. “Wow... yeah, I think the word ‘jackass’ covers it.” 

Your father nodded at you, not seeming to mind that you had just cussed – maybe due to the individual that it had been directed at.  

“Wait, but why is he so obsessed with being #1? It’s just some stupid title that the media slaps on heroes, anyways. It’s not like it actually means anything.” You commented, stabbing at your sushi with your chopsticks in anger.  

You hated how the media and big-time heroes treated those who specialized in ‘side kick’ work. There was a lot of merit in what rescue heroes did, and it bothered you that people would think lesser of heroes who cared about saving civilians just as much as fighting villains.  

“Well,” he responded, “if there’s one thing to know about Endeavor, it’s that he’s obsessed with All Might. Saving people may be in his job description, but his end goal is to beat All Might, no matter the cost.”  

You shook your head, having nothing left to say about this Endeavor character. You were glad that he was out of your father’s life, and that your father was pursuing his own hero work now.  

“So, you started up the agency two years ago, then? How’s it going so far? No offense, but it has seemed pretty dead since I’ve been here.” 

He chortled into his napkin, then squinted at you mischievously. “You’re lucky your entrance exam is tomorrow, or I would have made you do 300 pushups for that comment! Can’t have my princess too worn out though.”  

You laughed at him, taking a few more bites of your food. “You’re a weirdo, dad.” 

He raised a shoulder and laughed again. “I get that a lot – but, no, the agency has been doing really well actually. I’ve just had Best Jeanist take my work these past two weeks - figured once you start up school, I’d begin patrolling and taking cases again. It was more important to get you trained up as much as I could, and see where you are at with your quirk.”  

His eyes crinkled, and he reached across the table to ruffle the top of your hair.  

“ _Dad,_ ” you groaned at him, dropping your chopsticks to try and correct your hair. You had styled it to lay very specifically, with a harsh side part that he had just fucked all the way up.  

“I don’t want to talk about me anymore,” He said, ignoring your whining. “It’s time to answer  _my_ question now!” He slapped a hand on the table, and you couldn’t help but laugh once you realized that he was kind of tipsy.  

“You feeling that Kirin Lager, dad?”  

His facial expression was wiped blank for a moment, and then he broke out into bursts of laughter. “You’re right, you’re right. I’ve definitely drunken too much – must have been in the celebratory mood without realizing it!” 

You grinned at him, realizing that he was just as goofy as you are when you’re drunk (which was NOT information that you were planning on sharing with him anytime soon.) 

“What was your question, anyways, Mr. Drunkouchable?” You slyly grinned as you made a pun out of his hero name.  

“Oh yeah! What’s up with the nose piercing, kid? And that messy bob thing you’ve got going on? You look like one of those hooligan street kids who are always on The Instagram.” His voice had risen to levels that far exceeded the expected  _inside voice_  of a sushi restaurant, but you didn’t particularly care.  

“You sound old, dad. This. Is. Called.  _Fashion._ ” You explained, pointing up and down from your face to your shirt, which happened to be an obscure punk band tee.  

He just shook his head, and continued to make pointed comments about your appearance, which you brushed off with ease as you knew that he was just teasing. You returned it, too, making sure to call him a “shaggy old dude” a few times.  

It was different than when your mom made comments about your appearance... she just wanted you to look like an identical copy of herself. You could tell that he genuinely didn’t care what you did, as long as he got to tease you about it in a ‘stupid dad’ kind of way.  

You continued to chit-chat for the next hour while your dad tried to sober up by sipping on cups of water. At one point, he ordered some fried eel, explaining to you that greasy food was best for settling your stomach after drinking too much alcohol.  

“If your mother asks, I never told you that, though.”  

You didn’t comment much in response, your mind flicking back to memories of sneaking alcohol from your friends’ (also famous) parents’ houses. You couldn’t even count the amount of times you had woken up hugging a toilet. Yup, that was definitely not something your dad needed to know about.  

Finally, once he felt up to heading back to the house, the two of you got up, paid for your meal at the checkout counter, and left. You continued to share more and more about yourselves while ambling back home, learning that your father was called “Tatsu” by his close friends and that he had a fondness for Shiba Inu dogs. He had not dated since his divorce with your mother, explaining that he had always been too busy with his hero work to even consider it.  

In return, he learned that you were more of a cat person, and that you hated being around people who were ‘too serious.’ He snorted at that, wondering how well that would go over with some of the kids at UA. You told him all about the friends you had left behind in America, commenting that, “I really liked them and everything, but I always knew that I’d be living over here eventually, so I tried not to get too close.” He felt somewhat conflicted about that, but decided not to comment.  

Once you had finally arrived home and stepped inside, he gave you a brief hug before pulling back to look down at you. “I just want you to know that I’m proud of you. I know for a fact that you are going to pass this entrance exam, so don’t stress yourself out too much... and I’m sorry that I’m not one of the big-time heroes that can get you in on recommendation alone, but I know that you’re going to blow those judges away.” He intoned, with a serious expression weighing down his face.  

“That’s crazy talk, dad. I’d rather be taking the entrance exam anyways, it’s more worthwhile when you have to work for it a little, don’t you think?” You replied before jokingly flexing your bicep at him.  

He grinned at you, and then pulled you in for one last hug. “Okay, tough girl. Well get some rest, you’ve got to wake up early tomorrow. I already shouldn’t have kept you out this late... some dad I am, huh?” 

“Yeah, you suck,” You said, laughingly, before elbowing him lightly.  

Saying your goodnights, you finally went upstairs and got ready for bed. Throwing on a light-weight pair of shorts with a cotton tank top, you dived into bed and let the wave of sleepiness you’d been fighting take over. Your heart swelled in anticipation for tomorrow, and you fell asleep with an excited grin dancing over your lips.  

Tomorrow was the big day; the UA Entrance Exam! 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arisa finishes her practical exam and meets a few fellow applicants!

**CHAPTER 4**  

The next morning, the alarm on your bedside table shook you from a deep dream that you couldn’t quite remember. Rubbing the palms of your hands over your eyes, your mind automatically jumped to what was in store for the day. Taking a deep breath, you hopped out of bed and swiftly sorted your sheets into order.  

You then showered and got dressed, giving yourself one final glance in the mirror. You made sure that your wavy blond locks were styled to be as bouncy and shiny as possible, with a silver hair clip pinning your layered bangs out of your eyes. Feeling impulsive, you ran a thin strip of pink eyeliner over your upper eyelids to give yourself a bright cat eye. You smiled at yourself goofily after finishing with your makeup.  

As for your outfit, you had decided to wear one of the few outfits that you had brought to Japan from America. You knew that most of the kids there would be wearing their previous school uniforms, but you never had anything of the sort due to being a foreigner student.  

Instead, you kept it rather simple (for you, anyways) with fitted black pants, a sheer blouse, a tailored blazer, and cute oxford shoes that had its normal black laces swapped for silk pink ones (to match your eyeliner, of course).  

If it wasn’t for the flashes of color in your outfit, people would probably assume that you were some young editor for a fashion magazine. You shrugged, thinking that it was better to feel confident in your favorite clothes rather than uncomfortably fashioned.  

If your mother could see you now, she’d probably have you change into an expensively tailored schoolgirl outfit that would make you simultaneously conform and outshine everyone else. That wasn’t really your style, though, and she wasn’t here to make you. So, in short,  _fuck it!_  

Running downstairs, you crossed the main entryway from your father’s welcome desk to the small kitchen that was hidden aside. He stood there, making breakfast with an apron tied around his waist, cooking up some vegetarian bacon for you. The table had already been set with an absorbent amount of food; scrambled eggs, assorted fruits, hash browns, waffles, and additional dishes that you couldn’t quite identify, but that looked and smelled amazing.  

He served you a plate, and listened to you as you happily chattered away about your excitement for the day ahead of you. You quickly shoveled down your breakfast, and ran over to give him a quick hug before making your way towards the door. A backpack hung from your shoulders, carrying your wallet and gym clothes. 

“Wait! Are you sure that you’re going to be able to make it there by yourself?” He asked, concerned. You had only been in Japan for two weeks, after all.  

“Oh, yeah! I’ve already got my bus pass set up and studied what route I need to take to get there, it should only be a 25-minute ride to Mustafu. I just need to make sure I catch the first subway in time. I should really get going now, though, dad.” You said, feeling and sounding confident.  

He tried not to look saddened, as he knew that it was important for you to do this on your own. A tiny part of him had been hoping that you would want his company on the way over to UA, though. Noticing his look of disappointment, you teleported over to him and gave him another tight hug, squeezing his middle until he coughed in discomfort and made you release him.  

“Bye, dad! Don’t wait up!” You shouted behind you while running towards the door, deciding that you probably shouldn’t teleport anymore until it was time for your practical exam. Your quirk required you to expend energy, and you wanted to conserve as much as you could.  

You were able to easily make it to the subway station, although it took a little wandering for you to find the correct subway to get onto for you to connect to the second one that would take you to Mustafu. Once you arrived, you quickly pulled out your phone to double check the map and ensure that you were walking the correct direction towards the UA campus.  

As you had continued on your journey, you progressively began to see people traveling in the same direction as you who appeared to be on their way to UA as well. There were kids of all shapes, sizes, and hair colors.  

Some had unique quirks that were signaled by their appearance, with some having tails, wings, or a variety of fur patterns. Others seemed much more mysterious, with built physiques and intimidating auras. All of them looked as serious as could be, though, with set faces that were buried in large scarves against the cold windy air.  

If any of them sent you curious glances, you didn’t notice as you were too lost in your own thoughts, wondering what all the exams would hold in store.  

You turned a street corner, and the prestigious UA campus finally came into view, its high towers peaking above the skyline. The whole campus was fenced off, with a large entryway placed directly at the front of the school. You passed underneath while eyeing the surrounding buildings, and heard some of the other applicants murmuring about how the campus was usually highly restricted, with access being nearly impossible for anyone non-affiliated with the school.  

Your attention was diverted as you could practically  _feel_ the anxiety exuding off of one individual in particular. You glanced over, and saw a nervous green-haired boy and a bubbly-looking girl facing each other on the walkway. She was saying goodbye to him while the boy’s face practically boiled from being red and hot with either excitement or embarrassment. As she turned from him to walk towards the school, he began talking to himself excitedly while seeming unaware of his surroundings.  

You couldn’t help but release a light laugh at his antics, feeling some of your own tension fade away. This caught the boy’s attention, and his head whipped over to make eye contact with you. Feeling somewhat caught, you smiled even wider and lifted a hand at him awkwardly while passing. He made a choking noise, his hand raising to return your wave before he seemed even consciously aware of doing so. He muttered something else, but you were too far away to understand him.  

 _He’s so open with his expressions_ , you thought to yourself before continuing on your way.  

You entered the visitors’ area of the main hall, where tables were set up to handle the intake of applicants who were arriving. They were organized by the different schools from which the applicants had attended, and you frowned in confusion. Where were you supposed to go? 

Narrowing your eyes, you noticed that some of the foreign looking applicants were filing together near a table at the side of the room. You began to walk over, realizing that this was where you needed to check-in. Getting in line behind a tall boy with similarly blonde hair, you looked around at all of the other applicants that were there. You fidgeted with your hands as your nerves began to rise, and you took a deep settling breath to calm yourself.  

“I see you have a flair for style as well, mon cheri,” A voice broke through your thoughts, sounding simultaneously smooth and over-the-top.  

You glanced over at the boy in front of you in the line. He had turned around to look you over, and had apparently decided that you were fashionable. His long blonde hair hung down past his ears, and was pushed back with gel and hairspray.  

You glanced him over in return, evaluating his outfit, as it seemed to be the appropriate response. He wore a trim velvety blue blazer paired with a ruffled white shirt and tailored pants. Oddly enough, there was a sparkling belt situated on his waistline that looked a little out of place. His face was set into a somewhat odd smile, but you could tell that he was harmless.  

“Thank you... and that blazer is to die for!” You returned his compliment, deciding to be friendly.   

His eyes squinted in satisfaction, and placed his fingers against his chest while laughing airily. “Oh, I like you.” He said, before adding, “Yuga Aoyama,” with the back of his hand held out.  

“O-oh,” You said, looking at his hand in confusion.  _Did he want you to kiss it?_ Unsure, you reached out and shook his hand rather limply.  

“Arisa Jisō,” You introduced yourself as well after releasing his hand.  

He smiled lightly, his eyes squinting and sparkling mischievously. “Jisō-san, I have a feeling we are going to be seeing a lot of each other.” 

You laughed at him, catching onto what he was implying. He made everything sound oddly dramatic and romantic, but you knew that wasn’t what he was meaning with his words.  

“I think so too! Let’s work hard to get in, Aoyama-san.” You replied, happy that he had used an honorific first so that you wouldn’t have to try and guess what was appropriate. You weren’t sure if you’d ever get used to calling people by their last names, with extra words at the end to designate your relationship to the person.  

Looking behind him, you noticed that the line had moved up considerably. “Ah, I think it is your turn to check in,” you told him.  

With a flourish, he swirled around to excitedly chirp his information to the rather bored-looking teacher on assignment at the foreigner table. After he received a card with some information on it, he smiled at you. “I’ll see you inside, mon cheri! Don’t be a stranger!”  

“Alright, see you in a second!” You responded. He sauntered away towards the large auditorium, and you stepped up to check in as well. After providing your identification to the teacher, your name was checked off from a list of foreigner applicants. You were provided with a similar card of information, and sent on your way to the auditorium as well.  

An usher directed you towards the left side of the auditorium, where the foreigner students were once again placed into a group. You settled down into a seat beside the blonde Aoyama boy, who turned to give you a serene smile before glancing back out towards the stage. Placing your bag on the ground beside your feet, you looked around at the other applicants before facing forward as well.  

The lights flicked off, and a booming voice began to shout out to the audience. You startled, before realizing that the pro-hero Present Mic had taken the stage. His face was being recorded and streamed to large screens that hung above the stage, furthering his presence in the room.  

The man was overwhelming, with his large hair and wide gestures.  

“For all you examinee listeners tuning in welcome to my show today! Everybody say, hey!” You stared at him in silence, noticing that nobody else had responded to the radio host either.  

 “Silence!! What a refined response. Then I'll quickly present to you the rundown on the practical exam! Are you ready?” He asked the audience again.  

Nobody said a word.  

“Yeah! Silence!!” He shouted, and you couldn’t help but cringe at his vocal amplification.  _I_ _s that really necessary? My eardrums are going to blow out._  

He continued on, beginning to explain the practical exam to everyone. From what you could gather, the test would be ten-minutes long in a mock urban battle. The applicants were being placed into specified battle centers. You looked down at your card, and noticed that you were to be in Battle Center ‘B’.  

As Present Mic began to explain the robotic villains that you would be fighting against, he was interrupted by a studious-looking tall boy with dark-colored hair. “May I ask a question?” 

“Okay!” Present Mic exclaimed.  

The boy explained his confusion regarding the fourth type of villain, which had gone unexplained by Present Mic, before turning towards another boy in the crowd. Turning your head to peer backwards, you realized that he was pointing at the funny green-haired boy you had seen earlier.  

“You over there with the curly hair! You've been muttering this whole time. It's distracting! If you're here on a pleasure trip, then you should leave immediately!” 

The green-haired boy sunk down in his seat, his hands over his face in embarrassment. Your lips sunk down, halfway between amusement and pity, before Present Mic drew your attention once again.  

“Thanks for the great message,” Present Mic responded, and proceeded to explain that the fourth villain was virtually worthless, serving more as an obstacle than anything else.  

 _That’s kind of weird... I guess it’s a way of weeding people out?_  You wondered.  

Glancing over, you noticed that Aoyama was in Battle Center ‘B’ as well.  

 _Nice!_ _At least there will be a friendly face._ You grinned, and then frowned almost comedically in quick succession.  _As long as he stays out of my way, we won’t have a problem._  

Present Mic ended his presentation, and the lights flicked back on. You quickly grabbed your bag, and walked out with the other applicants. Everyone was given a chance to change into their gym clothes before being led into groups based on their battle center designation. 

You finally arrived at the battle center after riding in a charter bus for a few minutes, making sure to sit next to Aoyama (who perpetually had his hands behind his head, for some reason). Standing outside the large doors of the battle center, you noticed that the area was probably a mile wide, and surrounded by a large circular wall of cement.  

You whistled, impressed at the sheer amount of funding this school must have to be able to pull off such a large battle arena – and there were two more, apparently!  

Standing around, you waited for some sort of announcement to be made to signal that the battle was about to begin. Unsure of what to do in the meantime, you decided to get in some stretches and loosen up your muscles. Aoyama stood a few yards away with his hands on his hips, doing nothing but smiling confidently at the other applicants.  

As you leaned over to stretch your leg out, you noticed that the green-haired boy and the bubbly looking girl from before were in your group, the former gazing at the latter with starry eyes. Continuing to glance around, you also noticed the studious boy from before and – peering down – the massive engine-like mechanisms affixed to his calves.  _Whoa._   

A familiar booming voice echoes overhead, and you looked up to see Present Mic standing atop the charter bus. A sinking feeling hit your stomach as you realized what was about to happen.  

“ _Okay_ , start!” He yelled, as the doors to the battle arena swung open.  

“What’s wrong? There are no countdowns in real fights! Run, run!” He yelled, but his voice was already fading for you as you had teleported into the arena. A quick glance behind you confirmed that the other applicants were rushing forwards as well in a mass tangle of bodies.  

Facing ahead, you dove into a full sprint with your head whipping around wildly to locate a robot that you could take down. It didn’t take you long to find one either.  

Just as you had turned a corner, a large 2-pointer walked into the street from the adjacent alley. The creature was a metallic dark green, with giant arms and a swiveling head. Its eye was a red laser that began to glow while focused... right... on... you.   

“Shit,” You muttered, teleporting out of the way just in time to miss a large blast where you had been standing. You were now standing behind the battle robot, eyeing its large back for any weaknesses.  

The creature seemed confused momentarily before it somehow sensed your presence behind it. The head turned to seek you out, and you gulped in apprehension. However, movement behind the robot drew your attention – and sparked an idea.  

You teleported in front of the robot once again, and looked behind you at a larger 3-pointer that was now approaching the fight. “Over here, Iron Giant!” You called out to the creature, causing both the 2-pointer and 3-pointer to notice your location.  

The larger robot broke into a run, its large arms swinging towards you. Glancing at the 2-pointer, whose eyes were narrowed in your direction, you closed your eyes.  

Teleporting again, you began to fall in the air directly on top of the 2-pointer's head. Giving the creature a swift kick, the resulting metallic clang signaled your location to the 3-pointer that had paused in its run to look for you. Its red laser eyes found yours in an instant, just as the 2-pointer raised an arm to take a swipe at you. At the last second, you teleported to the rooftop nearby, just in time to watch the 3-pointer's laser blow up the smaller robot’s head.  

“Yes!” You jumped into the air, punching your fist into the sky.  

The 3-pointer wasted no time, however, and immediately turned towards you to deliver another round of fire with its huge laser eye. You barely disappeared in time to avoid the blast, traveling to another rooftop behind the robot. Deciding to make the fight more physical, you then teleported onto its shoulders and delivered a heavy blow to its head with a roundhouse kick.  

Keeping this tactic, you continuously teleported out of the way of its swinging arms to deliver swift kicks to the creature. Using the velocity of your body as you fell down onto the creature, you continued to pound into its metal body before eventually caving in the siding of one of its panels. Reaching in, you grabbed at wires and pulled until they ripped out with a large tear. Holding the wires above your head in success, a vicious grin took over your face as the creature finally fell. 

You knew how to win this thing, now.  

 

* * *

 

 _Five Points... Eight Points… Eleven Points… Fourteen Points… Twenty Points... Thirty Points... Thirty-Five Points... Thirty-Eight Points..._  

You counted your battle points in a looping mantra, becoming obsessed with hitting at least the 40-point mark. Your body was relatively unscathed so far, aside from a large bruise that was forming over her right upper forearm, where a robot had managed to  _whap!_  you while you were adjusting to a hasty teleport maneuver.  

The immediate area where you had just finished fighting a 3-pointer was getting overrun by fellow applicants, and you frowned in frustration.  

 _Gotta_ _get above Forty._  

You were distracted by a heavy shaking in the ground however. Whipping your head towards the source, your eyes widened as you realized that an even larger, monstrous robot had entered onto the area. _The fourth villain!_  

You clenched your fist and readied yourself to fight the creature, before Present Mic’s words rang in your ears. “The fourth type of villain is worth zero points. That guy's an obstacle, so to speak.” 

 _Oh._  

Looking around, you realized that everybody was still momentarily distracted by the fourth villain’s explosive entrance. Smirking, you broke into another full run despite your lungs practically screaming for you to stop already. You ran towards the last portion of the battle arena that you hadn’t gotten to on the western side of the perimeter, hoping that there might be a lingering 3-pointer roaming the area.  

Unfortunately, you were sourly disappointed as you encountered a 2-pointer instead. You knew that the ten minutes of battle time were almost up, and this was going to be your last fight. Feeling a spark of anger, you overcame your tiredness and began to teleport around the swinging machine. Your muscles ached as you attacked the robot over and over again.  

You heard a loud crash during your battle, and blankly acknowledged that someone must have brought down the fourth villain. It didn’t matter though – it didn’t affect you.  

The creature fell as the final buzzer sounded. 

 _Thirty-Nine Points it is, then._  

You hmphed, and then fell onto your knees in a tired slump.  

The exam was done.  


	5. Chapter 5

You passed the entrance exam. 

Of course you did, with such a high score. 

After the exam, you'd gone home and told your father every little detail about the exam. He'd been proud of your ingenuity in fighting the large battle robots, and pointed out that it would be best that you begin using a weapon against future opponents. 

Your father pointed out the circular metal cuffs that he kept around his arms, which he used to hit opponents with during his own fights. His hero persona, Mr. Incredible, was known for being an acrobatic hero with the ability to fight large opponents while relying on his speed and flexibility. Coupled with his teleportation quirk, this made him a formidable opponent; however, the human body is only so strong. 

This was shown by the large bruise across your body from where one of the battle robots had been able to slap you. Not only that, but your legs had been extremely sore after the fight due to the pressure you had put on your body to kick the robots continuously and from a high velocity. Your father explained that if you had some sort of weapon, such as a staff, you could deliver blows to your opponents without putting so much strain on yourself. 

You had asked him why he didn't use such a weapon, to which he had replied that he preferred closer combat.

"Maybe I do too," You had frowned at him. 

"Yes, well, maybe one day... but for now, you are still a hero in training, and I want you to have as much distance as possible between an opponent in a fight. Your goal is to become a rescue hero, anyways, right?" 

"Well yeah, but rescue heroes have to fight too... You especially should know that."

"I do," he agreed, "but this is my condition for allowing you to attend UA. Okay, Arisa? Just focus on fighting with as much distance as possible."

You'd felt like it was sort of bullshit, but you also understood that he was just trying to keep you safe, in his own way. 

"Fine," you had finally succeeded with a sigh. 

The next day, he had brought you long metal staff with straps for you to secure against your hands. He began to train you on how to use it, focusing on heavy jabs and aerodynamic strikes from above. You didn't really enjoy fighting with it; it was awkward to hold, and you had to become accustomed to remembering to teleport it along with yourself (which was an easy thing to do, in the heat of a fight). 

The first day of UA wasn't set to start for another two weeks, so you had a brief period of time to continue training. Your father bought your UA outfit for you, and primarily worked on paperwork in his office during the morning hours, leaving you to your own devices. 

The day before classes were supposed to start, you decided to call your mother. 

You wanted to check on her, because she tended to make bad choices whenever she was away from you for too long. It may be a new boyfriend, a new contract with poor terms, or excessive partying and scandals. You hadn't seen anything about her on the news lately, but you had to go out of your way to try to find anything on her as the news in Japan tended to report on domestic celebrities rather than foreign celebrities. 

You sat on your bed, hunched over slightly, with the phone gripped into your palm. 

The phone rang seven times before finally picking up, and you almost thought that it went to voicemail before you heard your mother's slurred voice, which greatly contrasted from her polished answering service message. 

" _Arisa!_ Hi baby, where are you?" She murmured, sounding as if she had just woken up. You checked the time, and realized that it was probably close to midnight, if your mother had returned to New York already. 

"I could ask you the same thing. Are you back in New York? What time is it there?"

You heard the sound of sheets or paper being ruffled, several voices in the background, and then a loud  _thud_. 

"Hello?" You called out.

"Oh, sorry baby! I'm at a little work get-together right now.  _Shh, shh!_ " You could hear her shushing someone else. 

There was a long silence, and then she spoke again. 

"Arisa, what are you doing? Are you with your father?" She asked, sounding somewhat more focused / awake. 

"Yeah, it's morning. We just had breakfast. I wanted to call you and check in... and also to tell you, I passed my entrance exam." 

She said nothing at first. You weren't sure what you'd expected her to say either - you knew she wasn't necessarily happy about what you were doing in Japan, but she didn't have the power to stop you, either. That didn't stop you from wanting her to be happy for you though. 

You may have your problems, but she was your mom at the end of the day. 

"Okay." She finally said, flatly. 

"Okay?" You repeated, questioningly. 

Another long silence filled the air.

"Do you know how embarrassing this is for me? To have my daughter leave and go live with her father in another country?" She asked bitingly. 

You didn't respond, frowning at her reaction. 

"Mom, it's not like I left because I like him better or anything. I know we've had our differences, but this is something that I'm genuinely pursuing. This is what I want to do with my future. Can't... can't you just be happy for me?" Your eyebrows raised. 

She laughed in response. 

"You're too young to know what you want to do with the rest of your life. This is just a phase, Arisa." 

You didn't like how she said your name, so full of all-knowingness and disregard. 

"Hurry up and come home soon, okay?" She added, a little softer now. 

You stared into the distance, willing yourself to sound as emotionless as possible. 

"No, I won't be coming home soon. My classes start tomorrow, and I have a lot to do to prepare today. Bye, mom."

"Arisa - " She started, but you had already disconnected. 

Okay, well, so much for that. 

You spent the rest of your day training, and exercising the anger from your body. 

Classes start tomorrow. 


	6. Chapter 6

You had just gotten off the subway and exited the station, finally arriving in Mustafu. 

Glancing down, you inspected the UA outfit that hung onto your body. The outfit fit you well - a little too well, in your opinion. 

Why the fuck were the girls expected to wear skirts? Seemed stupid to you. Honestly, you were a bit of a ‘designer high-waisted jeans and oversized crop-top’ kind of girl. 

Shaking your head, you decided to get over it. At least all the other girls would be wearing similar outfits, and you doubted that the gym uniforms would be as exposing. 

Striding forward and clutching a backpack strap with your hand, you began your walk onto campus. 

You were about 30 minutes early, but it seemed like everyone else was too. At least, the first year classes were, from what you could tell. The students you saw all looked about your age. 

All your classes would be occurring in one classroom for the most part, being Class 1-A. Shouldn’t be hard to find. 

You politely excused yourself while attempting to pass a group of boys as you entered the main building where your class was located. In the back of your mind, you took in all the details of the school, particularly how clean and grandiose the whole building was. 

You’d attended a nice private school in New York, but this really took the cake. 

Your shoulder bumped against that of a tall red-headed boy with spikey hair, who was among the group of boys you were trying to pass. 

”Sorry!” You chirped, glancing over in surprise as you continued walking. 

His hair wasn’t the only thing that was spikey, you noticed, as he gave you a large shark-toothed grin. “No worries,” he called out to you, a hand behind his head as he ran his fingers through his hair. 

You returned his grin with a smirk, and turned around to continue walking to class. A sign helpfully pointed you in the right direction, and before long, you stood in front of the doorway to the classroom. 

This was it! 

Walking through the already opened doorway, you peered around curiously. You were relieved to see that the seating appeared to be on a choose-your-own basis, which made you glad that you had arrived early. 

There were already a few students seated or standing near their chosen desks, introducing themselves to each other. You lingered in the doorway, mulling over your options. 

You would never admit that you were feeling shy - but, well, you were. Deciding to grab the front left window seat, you strode forward and placed your backpack atop the desk. There, claimed. 

“You must be very studious, sitting right up front,” a girl’s voice caught your attention. 

Glancing over, you saw an otherworldy-looking girl. She had pink skin and pink hair, with amber-colored eyes and small horns to match. 

Your mouth dropped somewhat. 

“You look so cool,” you cooed at her. Realizing how weird that sounded, you brought your palm up to your forehead in embarrassment. 

She giggled at you lightly. “Thank you, I think you might be my favorite classmate so far.” 

You peeked at her, and then removed your palm from your face. Your cheeks were still dusted with a light blush, but you decided to try and move on from your awkward moment. 

“Oh, so far, huh?” You leaned a hand against your desk, trying to seem a little cooler. 

“What can I say, I haven’t met everyone else yet,” She replied, sticking her tongue out at you jokingly. 

“So, what’s your name? Mine is Mina Ashido!” She exclaimed brightly. 

Her mood was infectious, and you gave her a beguiling smile. “My name is Arisa Jisō. I hope we can be friends, if you decide you like me well enough.” You joked. 

“Awww, let’s be friends!” She did a little happy jump that made you giggle in return. She was so nice! You hoped all your classmates would be this way as well. 

“Jisō-san, I knew we’d see each other again,” an overly smooth voice interjected. You turned to see Yuga Aoyama standing nearby, his hands clasped behind his back. A rose peeked out of the pocket of his blazer, making you raise an eyebrow in intrigue. 

“Hey Aoyama! Ah, Aoyama-san,” You tried to quickly correct yourself. 

Mina Ashido clapped her hands together in excitement. “Ooh, so familiar! How do you two know each other?” She asked, before quickly introducing herself to Aoyama as well. 

“A pleasure,” He took her hand, introducing himself in return. She quickly pulled her hand away from him, eyeing you with a quick ‘what the fuck?’ look on her face. 

“We were registered together at the entrance exam,” You explained with a laugh. “We’re both foreigner students, if you couldn’t already tell by my terrible accent and his... Frenchness...” You said while slyly elbowing Aoyama. 

“Don’t scare away my new friend,” You stage-whispered at him. He threw his head back and laughed airily in response, his fingers touching his chest. 

“You are too funny, Jisō-san.” He said, then moved to take the seat that was directly behind you. 

Mina stepped forward then, re-gaining your attention. “So, you’re American, then? Half-and-half? You do look somewhat Japanese.” She speculated, a hand on her chin. 

You nodded. “You guessed right! I’ve only been here for a month or so,” You explained. 

“That’s cool! I’ve always wanted to live abroad somewhere. You have family here, then?” 

“Mm-hmm, I’m living here with my dad. He’s been showing me around a bit, although we’ve mostly been training.” 

The two of you continued to get to know each other during the last few minutes before class. You became brave enough to ask her about her quirk, which might explain her unique appearance, and learned that she had acid attack powers (which didn't really explain her appearance all that much). 

You two had gotten so entrenched in conversation that you failed to notice as other students filed in. “What is your quirk, Jisō-san?” She had asked, but you’d gotten distracted by the other students - one in particular. 

“Whoa! That girl is invisible!” You gasped, automatically jealous of her quirk as you pointed towards the girl.

She sat at the back of the class, and you saw her body - visible only by her shapely uniform - straighten and then turn your way. The girl’s arm raised, and she waved at you. “H-hi there!” Her cutesy voice called out. 

You looked over to Mina, who gave you a mischievous glance, and the two of you began to walk over to the invisible girl. You knew that Mina would be a fun friend to have; her bubbly and outgoing energy was infectious and made you much more interested in getting to know your classmates. 

A loud slam made you and Mina jump in surprise, however. Turning your attention to the door, you saw a brazen looking boy with messy blonde hair and glaring red eyes. He was rather bulky for a kid your age, and his face was set into a cruel mask - if it wasn’t for that, you may have even considered him handsome. 

“Out of my way, sidekicks!” His tense, deep voice growled out to the class. He stomped forward, and then dropped into a seat near the door. 

You blinked, and then frowned. What a rude guy... 

Turning back towards Mina, you both shared a look of mild annoyance. She then gave a little gasp, and quickly pulled out her phone to check the time. 

“We’d better get in out seats, Jiso-san! I think class is about to start, and I promised to get on the teacher’s good side this year.” She looked around, and then leaned towards you conspiratorially. “I may have not been the most academic student at my last school,” she whispered to you. 

You nodded understandingly, and gave her a bright smile. “Yeah, that’s a good idea! I’m sure I’ll see you around later... wanna get lunch together?” You asked, hesitantly. 

“Of course! That’d be great!” Her eyes lit up, and she laughed giddily before giving you a small wave. She hopped back to her seat, and you quickly stepped back over to yours before sitting down. 

You suddenly felt embarrassed, realizing that you and Mina had been one of the few last students standing around, and worried that you may have called attention to yourself. Nonetheless, you managed to look nonchalant as you sat forward in your desk. 

Your fears were alleviated when the class’s attention was drawn to the studious-looking guy from your entrance exam. He had stood up to get onto the rude guy who had come in a few moments ago - who apparently had offended the other boy by having his feet propped up on his desk. 

They began to argue with each other, especially when the studious boy introduced himself as Tenya Iido. The angry blonde boy repeated the last name before shouting, “Oh, so you think you’re better than me?” 

What the fuck? Glancing around nervously, you wished that they’d shut up. Mina was right - class was going to start any second now. 

The situation was further heightened when a familiar looking green-haired boy entered the class, followed by the bubbly looking girl. This seemed to have enraged the angry blonde boy, who practically had steam coming out of his ears. 

Your annoyance at them grew even stronger, and you gave a loud moan of frustration. You weren’t comfortable enough to ask them to sit down, however. 

Your grumbling caught the attention of the boy next to you, and you briefly made eye contact. You’d almost gotten used to everyone in the class having a somewhat unique appearance, but this boy took your breath away too, just as Mina had. 

His hair was dual-shaded; red on one side and a cool white on the other. A red splotch marred one of his eyes, making him look all the more intriguing. His features were symmetrical, with slanted eyes that held unspoken words. 

Those eyes flickered over your face, yet still managed to hold an air of disinterest as they examined you. He then glanced back forward, the interaction lasting for no longer than a second. 

You realized that you had been holding your breath, and quickly took a deep breath. 

What the heck? 

Before you could think over the interaction any further, the doorway caught your attention yet again. This time, it was the teacher... if you could call him that. 

The guy resembled a worm in his giant, yellow sleeping bag. His eyes were bloodshot, and his black hair was scattered across his face.

He looked like a drunk transient. 

"My name is Aizawa Shouta, and I am your homeroom teacher." The man's voice grumbled as he gave the class a withering glare. Everyone who had remained standing before was now in their seat. 

This teacher did not seem happy. Not. One. Bit. 

"It's kind of sudden, but put this on and go out onto the field." He said, directing the class's attention to the gym uniforms that were in stock within the classroom. 

Everyone quickly scrambled to grab a uniform and change in the bathrooms nearby. You pulled your gym uniform on, Mina nervously beside you as you both walked out onto the field. 

"He seems strange, don't you think?" She asked.

You nodded in agreement, keeping your eyes on the teacher to make sure he wouldn't catch the two of you whispering among yourselves.

The class gathered in a semi-circle around the teacher in the field, waiting on further instruction. The whole class was in confusion, since everyone else they had passed while on their way to the field seemed to be on their way to the first-day orientation. 

Everyone was even more confused when they learned that Mr. Aizawa was about to put them through a physical fitness exam. 

"You kids have been doing these since junior high, too, right?" He intoned. "Physical fitness tests where you weren't allowed to use your quirks." He carried on, explaining how the results of the fitness test would allows their quirks to shine. This was in contrast to their prior schools, where the averages were taken from the results of students not using their quirks. 

He invited the angry blonde boy - whose name, she learned, was Bakugo - up to the softball diamond. He told him to throw a softball as hard as he could. 

"Anything goes, just stay in the circle." 

The boy - Bakugo - looked back at the class and smirked satisfactorily. You felt a spark of annoyance, disliking how he seemed to act like he was better than everyone else. 

You couldn't help but be impressed as an explosion shot from his hand, catapulting the softball out of view into the air, though. 

 _Holy shit_.

The class began to mutter excitedly, and you listened in agreement. This was actually pretty awesome, if you were being honest with yourself. At your old school, it had been prohibited to use quirks on school grounds. 

"It looks fun, huh? You have three years to become a hero. Will you have an attitude like that the whole time?”

The class stared at him, feeling somewhat caught by his accusation.

“All right. Whoever comes in last place in all eight tests will be judged to have no potential and will be punished with expulsion.”

Jesus Christ, what was up with this guy?! Your veins ran cold at the thought of being expelled. You knew that, at least in the softball throw test, you would probably rank pretty low. After all, your quirk did nothing to contribute to your sheer strength.

It felt unfair. The bubbly looking girl - Uraraka - expressed as much. You glanced over to her, grateful that she was saying what everyone else was thinking.

“Natural disasters, big accidents, and selfish villains. Calamities whose time or place can't be predicted. Japan is covered with unfairness. Heroes are the ones who reverse those situations. If you wanted to go talk with your friends at Mickey D's after school, too bad.”

Your brow furrowed as you listened to his words.

“For the next three years, U.A. will do all it can to give you one hardship after another. Go beyond. Plus Ultra. Overcome it with all you have got.”

Well, if he wanted you to prove that you deserved to be there, then you would give it everything you had. Maybe you could do well enough on some of these tests to skate by. Physical strength wasn’t everything, and surely there would be a few tests where you could let your quirk shine.

“Alright, let’s get started,” you spoke up, peering around the field to see what all tests were in store.

The green-haired boy looked over at you, and you noticed that he seemed almost more nervous than you were. You gave him a grin, and looked around at some of the other students who were glancing your way.

“We’ve got this - let’s make Mr. Aizawa eat his words.” You practically purred, your eyes beginning to gleam with excitement.

He would regret ever questioning your worthiness.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

 

You stretched your long legs while waiting for the 50 meter race to start. You’d been called by Mr. Aizawa to get into position first.

“Kirishima,” he called next, and you saw the shark-toothed red-head who you ran into earlier step up to the second lane.

He gave you a friendly grin, which offset the pointy-ness of his teeth. “Hey, Jiso right?” He asked.

“Yes, and you are Kirishima. It’s nice to meet you.” You gave him a slight bow.

His cheeks flushed slightly, and he floundered for a moment, trying to think of something else to say. "Well, it will be a pleasure beating you in this race!" He decided to go with, and cringed at himself.  _Really?_

Your eyes narrowed at his challenge, and you smirked. "I think the pleasure is going to be all mine, actually." You replied, grinning at him nonetheless. You didn't know what his quirk was, but you were sure that it had nothing on your teleportation quirk - at least in a race, anyways. 

"Ready? 3...2...1..." The robot moderating the race called from the sidelines. You crouched into position during the countdown, and then sprang into a teleportation jump. No sooner than the robot had initiated the race, you heard a buzzer ring as you re-materialized in front of the finish line before quickly crossing. 

Your time? 0.02 seconds. 

Almost perfect, if you did say so yourself. 

"That was unbelievable!" Kirishima's voice spoke from behind you as he crossed the finish line a few seconds later. You quirked your eyebrow and stuck out your tongue, deciding that he deserved a little taunting for his earlier remark. "What happened to you beating me?" You asked, coyly. 

He ignored your comment though, stepping a little closer to you. His eyes danced curiously as he asked, "What is your quirk? Teleportation, right? Wait - your last name is Jiso! By any chance...?"

Another voice cut in, bubbling with excitement. "Your father is the teleportation hero, Mr. Untouchable!" A certain green-haired boy cried out from nearby. It looked as though he had observed your race, and figured out who your father was for himself. He seemed like quite the fan boy. You frowned slightly, trying to remember his name from what you had heard Mr. Aizawa call him during roll call. 

"Ah, yes. You figured that out, I'm kind of surprised! Not a lot of people guess that quickly." You replied, eyeing the boy - Migoriya? - and Kirishima, who was also  able to guess your relation to the famous rescue hero. 

"I knew it!" Kirishima smiled, looking pleased. "Wow, what a cool quirk to inherit! I didn't know he had a daughter." 

The other questionably named boy chimed in as well. "You must have had a lot of training then, if your father is a pro hero! I bet you'll do well in this apprehension test." He said, sounding somewhat insecure for some reason. You wondered why, considering that he must have a pretty cool quirk to have gotten into UA in the first place. 

"Thanks, both of you guys. It's actually a tricky quirk to learn to fight with, so you'll have to forgive me for my clumsiness. Also, I think Mr. Aizawa wants us to stop talking..." You trailed off, eyebrows furrowing as you saw the teacher's glare locked in on the three of you.

The boys' heads whipped around to confirm what you were seeing. "Would you all like to finish your exam, or am I interrupting something." He said to your group dryly, and you instinctively held your hands up in an innocent gesture. "Sorry, teach!" You called out to him, and then turned back to the boys to give them both a quick wink and finger guns. 

"Duty calls!" You said, before snorting at your own cheesiness. You missed the flushes that spread across both boys' faces as you turned away to look for the next testing station. "She's pretty friendly," Midoriya murmured to Kirishima, who nodded in agreement as he gazed at you starry-eyed.

You walked over to the standing long jump area, and observed the test before you. It looked like the point was to jump over a sandbox that was in place, and stick the landing without tumbling over. You almost felt bad for how easy the last test, as well as this test, were going to be for you. 

The angry blonde boy was in front of you in the line, and you made sure to keep a few steps away from him and maintain your distance. You didn't really mind his bad attitude necessarily, you just disliked how disrespectful he was when he expressed his anger. 

He scoffed at Aoyama, who had just gone ahead of him, even though he had cleared the sandbox. "These sidekicks are nothing compared to me," he snarled to himself, and you couldn't help but shoot him a  _is he crazy?_ look. 

Something about his competitive spirit sparked your own though, and you couldn't help but want to put him in his place a bit. 

"You think you can clear this?" You asked innocently, from behind him. 

His neck practically cracked as he looked back at you incredulously. "Of course I can, idiot." He snapped back, and you noticed that he had startling red eyes. His symmetrical features were pulled into a snarl as he gave you an up-down look before dismissing you. 

 _Idiot, huh?_ You grinned mischievously at that. 

"Good luck, then. You probably won't jump as far as me, but it's great to put in your best effort! How admirable." You commented nonchalantly, as though you were making a statement about the sky being blue.

He turned his full body towards you this time, his arms tensing as though he were preparing for a fight.  _Oops, maybe I pushed him too far_ , you thought to yourself. You responded to his body language by widening your eyes innocently, then stuck out your arm to point behind him. "It's your turn, you should go ahead." 

His hand pushed your arm away from him, although you had been nowhere near touching him in the first place. "Just you watch, bug eyes." He sneered at you, then turned to face the sandbox. Breaking out into a run, he jumped up and used the torque from his explosive hands to sail across the sandbox and onto the other side. 

Meanwhile, your eyes had morphed into slits of annoyance.  _Bug eyes? That little shit._

Without further ado, you stepped forward and eyed the space that was five feet ahead of him. You swiftly teleported, and re-materialized into that exact spot, effectively making sure that you had 'jumped' farther than he had. He had blinked in confusion as he watched you disappear from the spot you had been standing, and didn't realize what you had done until he heard you giggling from his side of the sandbox. 

Whirling around, he saw you clasping your hands together innocently while the robot nearby measured your score, which was distinctly better than his. You could practically see the anger pounding in his forehead as he glared at you in contempt. "Oh, I don't think we've been introduced. You're Bakugou, right? My name is Arisa Jiso, and my quirk is teleportation." You introduced yourself brightly to him, as though nothing was amiss. 

Everything about this kid said  _ticking time bomb_ \- but he was also kind of funny, in a you-are-so-predictable kind of way. Teasing him was sort of like sticking a fork in a light socket - you'd get shocked, but have a nice buzz afterwards. 

He said nothing for a moment, and then growled out, "Jiso," as if he had just said "dog shit". You pretended to be nonplussed, although, if you were being honest, this Bakugou kid could be kind of intimidating. You weren't going to let him get to you or bully you, though - if anything, you would give him a taste of his own medicine. 

You continued to smile at him, feeling as though your face was going to break. "Time for the next test!" was all you said, before you practically pranced away to the next testing location. You walked inside the gym this time, slowing into a normal gait while following a sign that indicated that this was a grip strength test. 

This was where you were going to run into problems, because your quirk wasn't necessarily strength based. You weren't weak by any means, but your quirk did nothing to enhance your strength, and that was where your weakness would lie in this test. Hopefully your scores on the speed / distance based tests would be enough to carry you through to a decent score. There was NO WAY that you would be sent home today, not if you had anything to say about it. 

You sidled up to Mina Ashido inside the gym, struggling to grip the strange device that was used to measure your strength. You did poorly, as to be expected, and felt a flare of jealousy as even Mina did better than you. "Hey, we can't have it all right, Ms. Teleportation? I saw you messing with that Bakugou guy out on the field, you better watch out with him! I totally thought he was about to smack you around." 

You laughed a little with an easy shrug. "Nah, I don't think he would have gone that far. I do feel a little bad for getting on his nerves, though. " 

The two of you walked out of the gym, and onto the next testing location. The next tests were the repeated side steps (which you used your quirk to bounce through the lines, making yourself a little dizzy in the process), a distance run (again, too easy for you), and sit-ups, which made you feel extremely queasy. At this point, you had used your quirk enough to really work up an appetite. It wasn't easy for you to use your quirk this often without eating a little in between, and you held your stomach as it grumbled loudly. 

You were now standing in line at the baseball diamond, waiting to throw that damned softball that Bakugou had exploded into oblivion earlier. Behind you was the green-haired kid,  _what was his name again?_   The two of you watched as the bubbly girl, Ochako, threw the ball into the air... and then farther... and farther... and farther...

" _Infinity?!_ " The class cried as her ball floated into the upper atmosphere and beyond. She flushed excitedly at her score, and skipped a little to the side to let you go next. "That was seriously awesome," you complimented her as you passed to walk up to the baseball diamond. Ochako grinned at you happily, giving you an upbeat thumbs-up to cheer you on.  _She's sweet_ , you thought. 

You heard Bakugou grumble something, but you decided to ignore it. You already knew that you weren't going to do well on this test, so you might as well have some fun with it. Performing an over-the-top twirl within the circle you were supposed to stay within, you then tossed the ball in between your hands while exaggeratedly pretending to test out your arm swing. The class watched you, under the assumption that you were about to do something really cool. 

With a cry of determination, you finally cranked back your arm as far as it could go before extending it in a harsh throw. The ball sailed a short distance while everyone watched, and then swiftly fell to the ground without any special effect. There was silence, and you couldn't help but giggle a little. They really thought you were about to do something cool, huh? The robot awkwardly read out your score; 105 meters! 

You turned to the class, and shrugged as though nothing interesting had happened. "Well, you can't win them all, can you?" You addressed the green-haired kid as you walked past him and over to the sidelines. He looked at you a little wide-eyed, although there was a hint of amusement in his expression. You elbowed him a little as you passed him. "You can't do as bad as me, that's for sure!" 

You would have probably been more worried about this ball throw test, but you knew that you had done exceedingly well on all the other tests. Well, aside from the grip strength test, which you would have liked to forget about. Mr. Aizawa looked at you as though you were the least funny person in the world, which somehow managed to amuse you even more for some reason. You could have sworn that you saw him roll his eyes at you. 

Competitions really brought out your spunky side, so it would seem. 

You came to a standstill near the tall studious boy - Tenya Iida. He gave you a quick glance, pushing his eyeglasses up the bridge of his nose, before you both turned to watch the green-haired boy go next. "It doesn't look good for Midoriya, if he continues like this." Iida commented worriedly while watching the other boy. 

 _Ah, Midoriya is his name_. 

You frowned, thinking over his words. It did seem to ring true - you hadn't seen the green-haired boy do particularly well in any of the apprehension tests so far. He always seemed to be off in a corner, mumbling to himself. 

Iida's words caught Bakugou's attention. "Huh? Of course not. He's a quirkless small fry, you know." The boy said, disregarding Midoriya completely. This made you raise your eyebrows in surprise. 

"I don't think he's quirkless," you chimed in without thinking. It wouldn't make sense - how would he have gotten into the hero course at UA otherwise?

Iida nodded in agreement. "Are you not aware of what he did in the entrance exam?" The tall boy questioned Bakugou, who looked at him as though he had just spoke in a foreign language. You tilted your head in confusion, before a wave of clarity washed over you. "Oh, no way, was that him? I wondered who did that." You replied, impressed with this Midoriya kid. He must just be nervous, is all. 

"What did he do...?" Bakugou asked, almost unwillingly, but yours and Iida's attention was diverted when Mr. Aizawa and Midoriya looked to be having a tense conversation in the distance. You could see the teacher's entrapment scarf wrap around the boy's body to bring him closer to him. After a moment, the teacher released Midoriya and returned to the sidelines. The boy in question appeared to be in deep thought, holding one of his hands with the other as he frowned at the dirt. 

After a long moment, the boy finally steadied his breath and made a move to throw the ball. At what seemed like the last second, a burst of energy jolted out of his fingertips and onto the ball, causing it to sore off into the air. The throw was similar in power to Bakugou's, and beat his score by a mere decimal. 

 _Damn, I bet that pissed off angry boy over here_. You side-eyed him wearily, ready for whatever outburst was going to come out of him next. He seemed to have a special, intense hatred for Midoriya. You didn't really understand it, since Midoriya was an all around nice guy, but maybe there was some old beef between them. You had heard from another student during the apprehension test that they had attended high school together. 

As to be expected, he began to shout at Midoriya, calling him  _Deku_ , saying that he was not supposed to have a quirk, which made you cringe a bit at the sudden loudness. He stepped forward towards Midoriya, who was holding a swollen finger -  _did he hurt himself_  ? - before Mr. Aizawa used his restraining cloak to hold Bakugou back. "Don't keep making me use my quirk," the teacher growled. 

He released the kid, and then went to retrieve his clipboard. The teacher eventually revealed the class's scores, and you had mixed feelings when you were told that you had come in at fifth place. That was all well and good, but you hated that the Bakugou kid had came before you.

You were also worried as you realized that Midoriya had come in absolute last. You'd been hoping that the annoying sticky ball kid, Minoru Mineta, who you'd noticed eyeing you a few times, would have come in last. You were relieved to find out that the teacher had been lying about the expulsion thing all along, and were angered at how cruel of a thing that was to say to a class of new students. Although it did make sense that it had all been to draw out the best in the class's quirks.  

The teacher finally directed the class back to the classroom, providing instructions for everyone to read over the classroom curriculum, and announced that they were all dismissed for the day. That was all well and good, but you were  _hungry_ and had not been given a  _lunch_. You crossed your arms, grumbling to yourself in annoyance. 

You walked back to class with Mina and the friendly invisible girl, who you'd found out was named Toru. She was a very bright, kawaii type of girl, and you enjoyed her kind presence. She chattered all about the test and which boys she though were cute, and you couldn't help but agree with her when she mentioned the white-and-red haired boy named Shoto Todoroki. You hadn't noticed him much during the test, as you'd gotten wrapped up in your own competitiveness, but he had looked pretty dashing in his gym uniform. 

After you had retrieved your curriculum papers to review that night, you began your trek off of the school campus and towards the subway station. You hoped that your dad would be home and ready to go to dinner with you. You would definitely need to start bringing snacks to school, hidden in your backpack, if you were going to survive using your quirk that much again. 

You arrived at the subway station and walked around the platform towards the first train that would take you to where you needed to go in order to connect onto your final train. The dark hair of Tenya Iida caught your attention from a few steps ahead as he walked in front of you. On either side of him was Ochako and Midoriya, as they all chatted happily amongst themselves.

_Were they all riding the same train, then? Should I intrude?_

You scratched the back of your head awkwardly, and didn't notice as they stopped abruptly due to congestion ahead of them. You flounced into Iida's back, your nose crushing against his spine. "Ack!" You cried out in surprise. 

"Jiso-san!" Midoriya's and Ochako's voices cried out in surprise. 

"Jiso, are you okay? You should watch your step." Iida simultaneously worried over you and criticized. 

"Ah, yeah, I'm fine. Are you all taking the train to Fukagawa station as well?" You asked, rubbing your nose sheepishly. 

"My train is actually the next stop over," Iida explained. "Same here," Ochako replied, "We all just decided to walk over together though."

Midoriya blushed slightly, and you figured that he must have some extreme shyness. "I'm actually taking the same train as you... d-do you want to ride together?" 

Your eyes widened slightly, and the corners of your lips turned up. "Yeah, sure! Thanks, Midoriya. Always good to have a friend around."

Everyone in the group smiled at that, and you let out a little sigh. "I honestly saw you guys a little while ago, but I wasn't sure if I should say 'hi' or not. If it wasn't for my collision with Iida here, I probably wouldn't have. Anyways, thanks for being so welcoming towards me." You said, bowing slightly out of instinct. 

Their hands flew up in protest.

"Oh, it's no problem!"

"We're all friends, here!"

"Let's all walk together everyday!"

The last comment came from Ochako, and you sent her a nod to assent to her suggestion. 

"I would seriously love that. But, anyways, what did you guys think of Mr. Aizawa?" You asked, decided to change the topic out of slight embarrassment. They were being  _really freaking nice_ to you, and you weren't used to that. 

You all continued to chatter until it was time to separate, and a feeling of warmth spread through your chest. You had made quite a few budding friendships today, and you were excited to spend the next three years getting to know these people. Everyone seemed very kind - except for Bakugou, but you were pretty sure he probably just had some weird complex with Midoriya he needed to get over. 

Midoriya and you stood next to each other on the train, both holding a handle above your heads to steady yourselves. "I couldn't help but notice you smiling, Jiso-san. I w-was wondering why..." He trailed off, and you turned to look over at him. He looked a little mortified at his own question, and you smirked to put him at ease. "I'm just happy. This is the first time I've felt like I could make friends with my classmates."

"O-oh really?" He asked, eyeing you curiously. 

You nodded. "Yeah. I went to school in New York before UA, but it was just hard to get close to anybody there. It really feels different here with you and everyone else in our class. I think I might really like going to school here, aside from all the pro-hero training." 

He listened to you thoughtfully, and seemed to relax as you expressed your true emotions regarding Class 1-A. "I think I understand what you mean. It helps that everyone has the same goal too, to become a pro-hero. I don't know if I'll ever be on the level of some of the people in our class... you included, if I'm being honest." 

"Midoriya," You replied, turning towards him. "I'm not sure why you're so unsure of yourself, but I just want you to know that I think you have a super cool quirk. I mean - crazy strength and power? Who wouldn't want a cool quirk like that. You're bound to be an awesome pro-hero, so don't look so down on yourself." 

He watched you speak with something akin to wonder in his eyes, and you wondered how often he had been cheered on about his dream. It didn't seem like he had much, and you couldn't help but related to him in that sense. 

You pushed your shoulder into his to jostle him out of his stupified gaze. "Hey, if it makes you feel better, I've got a lot of work ahead of me too. Let's cheer each other on and do our best, okay?" You asked him, your eyes squinting as you grinned happily. 

He flushed again, but looked at you determinedly. "Alright, Jiso-san. Let's do our best!" He spoke confidently this time, and you nodded in appeasement. "That's what I like to hear!" You replied back. 

The rest of your ride was spent in comfortable silence. You daydreamed about the food that you were going to eat that night, as well as the schooldays ahead of you - filled with new friends and trying challenges. You felt a little more ready for it, and a little more inspired as well. 

You weren't the only one trying to prove yourself, and that made you all the more stronger.

 

 


End file.
